Translator: CinderTL
Boom!!
The relentless explosions shook heaven and earth, sending flames shooting skyward from the abandoned factory.
Wooden crates burst open, steel sheds collapsed.
Debris rained down as Black-Robed Cultists were either blown to smithereens by missiles or swiftly eliminated by the Combat Squad.
"These cultists certainly hid their tracks well," Chen Feng remarked, standing at the aircraft's open hatch, calmly surveying the one-sided operation unfolding below.
The suburbs lacked Sky Eye surveillance, and the City Council had expended considerable effort to locate this hideout.
"Senior Brother, we're going in," Xu Tingxiao and the others behind him said, their voices brimming with anticipation. They understood this was a training exercise to hone their skills and gain experience.
"Mm," Chen Feng nodded without further comment. He watched as Xu Tingxiao, the other two, and the Combat Squad descended on single-person aircraft, converging to hunt down the fleeing Serpent Spirit Sect members.
The explosions gradually subsided as the missile bombardment was reduced to avoid friendly fire.
Even so, the flying cars and aircraft's armament modules continued their relentless assault. Large-caliber, specialized bullets found their marks with deadly precision, striking in rapid succession.
"Rescue the hostages," Chen Feng ordered, his gaze shifting to the dilapidated warehouse where the steel shed's roof had been torn away.
The seven- or eight-meter-wide Blood Pool was filled with filth and iron shavings. The hostages bound within were lifted by the circular shield force field generated by the Flying Shuttle's explosion, gradually rising to the surface to avoid the tragic fate of being sacrificed.
Meanwhile, several cyborgs and cyborgs had already charged into the warehouse, poised to rescue the hostages in a single decisive strike.
Unfortunately, several Serpent Spirit Envoys were still stubbornly resisting, posing significant obstacles.
"Yes!"
Peng Gang, standing beside him, nodded firmly before diving down in his personal aircraft.
The aircraft's tail thrusters roared, unleashing a surge of power.
His Titanium-grade augmentation modules activated, simultaneously engaging his Fourth-Tier Force Field and energy device.
Buzz!!
In an instant, he charged through the warehouse with raw, primal violence.
A blue force field enveloped the area, pinning several Lower Envoys to the ground.
Then, his metal fist smashed through everything, instantly piercing the Lower Envoys' bodies and killing them on the spot.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several corpses were sent flying, crashing into wooden crates and gasoline drums.
Through the tattered black robes, the Lower Envoys' faces were covered in grotesque, mutated scales, transforming them into something resembling Serpentfolk.
"These monsters," someone muttered, feeling a wave of unease.
They all knew that these Envoys had once been ordinary humans.
Peng Gang wasted no words. He simply ordered the others to hurry into the Blood Pool to rescue the hostages, then turned his stern gaze toward the hooded figure retreating to the warehouse entrance.
"Mid-Rank Envoy?"
The Scanning Module registered a surge of high-energy data—a powerful Fourth-Tier biological magnetic field.
The hooded envoy, Liya, didn't reply. Holding his brown serpent-shaped scepter, he stood before a towering inferno, with debris from the explosion spattering at his feet.
"So close..."
"I was so close to summoning the Winged Serpent King to this place."
His eyes turned cold, his human irises vanishing to be replaced by serpent pupils.
"So close... just a little more..."
He glared at Peng Gang with venomous hatred, as if determined to etch his image into his very bones.
"Just a little more!!!"
A bloodcurdling roar echoed through the warehouse. From the shadows at his feet, a colossal black python erupted, its jaws gaping wide to swallow Peng Gang whole.
Peng Gang's expression turned grim. Activating his Armament Module instantly, he unleashed a barrage of metal fists.
Boom!!!
The python exploded, its form dissolving into floating Spirit Light.
But before the light could dissipate, the hooded envoy swung his serpent-shaped scepter, slamming it violently against the ground.
Buzz!!
As if channeling some unseen force, the warehouse floor rippled like flowing water, causing the hostages to stumble and nearly fall.
Peng Gang's expression turned grim as he watched the Earth Dragon stir. The concrete beneath his feet began to writhe and rise, entangling and binding his legs.
At the same time, the ground surged, transforming into two even larger Giant Pythons made of concrete. They bared their fangs and lunged at him from both sides, aiming to swallow him whole.
The crisis intensified, leaving no room for carelessness.
He immediately activated his ranged firepower. Missile launchers emerged from his shoulder armor, launching several micro-missiles.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions erupted, sending smoke and flames soaring into the sky.
His bionic eyes scanned left and right, their Scanning Modules glowing with a blue light. A magnetic field radiated outward, enveloping the area and precisely capturing every detail hidden beneath the smoke and flames.
Everything remained intact. The hostages and Combat Squad members had suffered only minor injuries and were already retreating, nearly out of the warehouse.
But the Black-Robed figure in the hooded cloak, a Mid-Rank Envoy comparable to a Fourth-Tier Envoy, had vanished without a trace.
"Damn it!"
Peng Gang's expression darkened. He immediately charged out of the dilapidated warehouse.
Smoke continued to billow across his vision, and similar explosions of fire and blood erupted throughout the abandoned factory.
He searched frantically, his heart pounding with anxiety.
If he let a Mid-Rank Envoy like this escape, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Yet, despite his desperate search, he couldn't find the figure anywhere.
Until finally.
Buzz!
The air trembled, and an invisible pressure suddenly enveloped the entire abandoned factory.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The pipes shattered, and the concrete floor cracked inch by inch.
It felt as though a Fifth-Grade Force Field had descended from the heavens. Everyone present felt an overwhelming pressure, their thoughts freezing, their bodies trembling.
The Combat Squad's cyborgs and cyborgs were instantly forced to halt their movements. The remaining Black-Robed Cultists, still resisting, began bleeding from their seven orifices, their bones creaking ominously as they teetered on the verge of collapse and unconsciousness.
The towering flames were extinguished, and cracks continued to spread across the abandoned wooden crates before they exploded with a deafening boom.
"What..."
Watching the wood chips settle, Peng Gang suppressed the immense pressure and looked up in horror.
The entire world seemed to have frozen in that instant. Standing at the aircraft's hatch, the black-robed youth faced the wind, gazing down at the earth and toward the warehouse behind him.
"Under my very eyes..."
"What do you intend to do?"
The youth's deep voice should have dissipated into the air, but instead, it resonated within the minds of everyone present.
Peng Gang barely managed to regain his senses and quickly turned his head.
He saw movement in the Blood Pool.
The Black-Robed Hooded Envoy, who had vanished earlier, had been hiding within it all along, using some method to shield himself from magnetic field and energy scans.
Now, overwhelmed by the immense pressure, he could no longer conceal himself. His body trembled, his bones creaked, and he was forced to reveal himself.
Dark light and crimson hues surged around Chen Feng like tides, flickering erratically. The serpent-shaped Serpent Scepter, which had emitted eerie glows, rapidly dimmed and twisted almost grotesquely.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Cracks spread across the warehouse's shattered concrete floor. Within the Blood Pool, the hooded Envoy named Liya stared up at the figure in mid-air with a mixture of horror and resentment.
So close!
Just a little more, and he could have summoned the Winged Serpent King here!
His desperate roar echoed only in his mind. He struggled frantically, but his resistance was futile.
Boom!
Finally, the figure fell, shaking the ground.
In the crater left by the impact, the black-clothed youth rose to his knees, stepping on the debris at the edge of the Blood Pool.
Looking down at the scene with cold indifference, he frowned slightly.
"Such meager nourishment."
A panel materialized before him. While he had successfully gathered Serpent Spirit Power, the Cultists were too weak to provide much.
So, turning his gaze to the Envoy, Chen Feng slowly raised his hand.
"Great Winged Serpent King!"
"Please, kill him!"
Liya, trapped in the Blood Pool, suddenly roared, his flesh rapidly melting away.
His human eyes had transformed into Serpent Eyes, filled with venom and curses. The scales that had covered his face peeled off, revealing decaying flesh, tendons, and bone.
He had actually chosen to sacrifice himself, hoping to summon the Winged Serpent King.
In an instant, the Blood Pool began to bubble violently, and a massive vortex formed within it.
A powerful, invisible aura surged forth, as if some terrifying creature were about to awaken.
Pfft!
At that crucial moment, a streak of crimson light flashed.
The deformed, scaled snake head exploded with a deafening roar, instantly killing the life about to be sacrificed.
The ritual was disrupted, and the rising aura of power abruptly ceased. Peng Gang and the others, their faces pale with shock, stood frozen in place, barely managing to regain their senses.
"You want to come to my world?"
Standing calmly, his right arm crimson like fire, Chen Feng watched the rotting corpse that had stopped dissolving and the vortex that seemed to be forming within the Blood Pool.
"Did I agree?"
He could sense an anomalous presence, hovering between Earth and some other dimension. It seemed on the verge of fully manifesting, yet it was still lacking that final fraction, unable to sustain itself.
Roar!
As if provoked, a colossal roar shook the heavens and earth.
Everyone felt their eardrums ache as a violent gale erupted.
The already dilapidated factory exploded, shattering countless objects. Figures scattered to dodge the debris.
Only the young man in the black trench coat remained standing, watching the Blood Pool roil and converge into a coiled, dormant crimson Winged Serpent.
Suddenly, the dead Envoy Liya rose to his feet. Blood visibly surged, gathering on his headless corpse to form the head of the Winged Serpent, revealing a pair of ghostly Serpent Eyes with a cold, dark light.
This sight struck Peng Gang and the others with horror. Some of the still-living Black-Robed Cultists, however, erupted in ecstatic shouts.
"The Winged Serpent King!!"
"It's the Winged Serpent King!!"
This was one of the Seven Great Angels Under the Serpent God, descending in person! Naturally...
Buzz!!!
An explosion of searing heat erupted, and a massive Blazing Sun rose into the sky, hovering above Chen Feng's head.
It was a crimson orb, with a hint of platinum hidden within.
Their cold gazes met the ghostly Serpent Eyes. Chen Feng could sense the Winged Serpent King's hollow facade.
The Blood Sacrifice had been forcibly interrupted, limiting the angel's full descent. The grand display was merely a response to the challenge, a desperate attempt to assert authority.
Boom!!
Instantly, the Holy Flame Sun burst open in midair, its intense heat vaporizing everything in its path.
A roar of defiance rose, but the overwhelming flames were unstoppable.
In a flash...
The crimson mist evaporated rapidly, and the decaying corpses were incinerated into ashes.
A wisp of white vapor rose, accompanied by a steady stream of notifications related to Serpent Spirit Power.
Thud!
Chen Feng's black trench coat settled back into place as he turned and walked away.
The stunned crowd snapped back to reality and quickly turned to look.
The Blood Pool was now completely empty, as if all the coldness and darkness had been swept away.
With steady steps, Chen Feng walked out, eventually brushing past Peng Gang, who stood frozen in shock with wide eyes.
"Clean up the battlefield," he said.
Buzz!
A gust of wind swept through the Greenfield Forest as a palm-sized bat flapped its wings into view.
Its Scarlet Eyes gazed at the distant abandoned factory, where smoke billowed into the sky and Black-Robed Cultists were being killed on the spot.
A dozen Flying Cars clustered around two aircraft, with Cyborgs and Modified Humans constantly emerging to either secure the rescued humans or escort them onto the vehicles.
"Looks like it worked," the bat murmured, its Scarlet Eyes lingering on the black-clad youth emerging from the factory.
As if sensing its gaze, the youth suddenly stopped, turning his head to look in its direction.
The two were separated by at least seven or eight hundred meters, not to mention the tangled branches and shifting shadows of the Greenfield Forest that concealed the bat's form.
"A special human," the bat mused.
The Scarlet Eyes recorded this person. Their perception was indeed quite sharp.
Though the Black Bat didn't believe the human had discovered it, it decided to take precautions. It flapped its wings and turned to leave.
With the plan successful, the remaining steps could now begin.
Then...
Whoosh!
A sound of tearing air filled the air. The Black Bat glanced sideways and saw a flash of white-gray light streaking across the sky. It was a small, two-winged stone statue, similar in size to itself.
The distance between them closed rapidly. The Black Bat sensed something amiss, its Scarlet Eyes burning with intense crimson light.
"You seek death!"
Dark light enveloped its body. It opened its mouth and unleashed a dark energy attack.
Shwoosh!
The compressed energy shot forth like a bullet.
But in the next instant, the approaching white-gray light suddenly swelled and grew larger, its surface covered in golden veins of light.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the dark light exploded.
The Black Bat widened its eyes, only to see the palm-sized stone statue, identical to itself, transform into a two-meter-tall behemoth.
Thick, sturdy stone walls surged forward, instantly blocking all light and casting a massive shadow over the Black Bat.
Then...
Boom!
A dull explosion echoed through the air. The Black Bat had self-destructed and vanished.
The shared vision flooded Chen Feng's eyes. Standing at the entrance of the abandoned factory, his gaze flickered slightly as he looked toward the Greenfield Forest.
"Another bat."
He'd seen one in the sewers before, and now he'd found another nearby.
It was clearly no ordinary bat creature, and its presence was laced with an unsettling sense of coincidence.
"Councilor Chen?"
Peng Gang, having just cleared the battlefield, approached.
He followed Chen Feng's gaze into the depths of Greenfield Forest, but saw nothing.
"Investigate this further," Chen Feng said, his expression hardening.
He sensed something amiss, a deviation from his earlier assumptions.
Behind the Serpent Spirit Sect might lie another, hidden power.
Peng Gang, though puzzled, didn't press for details.
He nodded firmly, immediately accepting the task of the follow-up investigation and promising to report promptly.
"Good work," Chen Feng said, patting his shoulder. He then turned and reboarded the aircraft that had landed.
Hiss! Click!
The hatch closed, and the tailwind kicked up.
The Combat Squad's many warriors watched with unwavering fervor and reverence in their eyes.
Silently sensing their devotion, Chen Feng settled into the aircraft's leather seat, his gaze once again fixed on Greenfield Forest.
With a thought, Stone Statue No. 1 immediately began searching for traces of the Black Bat's movements, as ordered.
(End of the Chapter)
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